The children in Scott Santinella’s summer school class spent a lot of time on their feet. These struggling readers swayed and stretched as they sounded out words. Standing up, Santinella showed the kids a picture of a drum. DR—the kids touched their head, U—next their waist and M- their toes. Next was FR-O-G.
During the summer program at Brookside Elementary school, Santinella was one of eight teachers who received several sessions of reading instruction from Margie Gillis, a reading expert from Haskins Laboratory at Yale University and president of Literacy How, a non-profit that specializes in reading research and teacher training.
As a result, Santinella incorporated new reading strategies like “Say it, move it” that he had learned into his lessons. He also intends to bring these lessons back to his third grade Naramake classroom in the fall. “They were really helpful. I plan to use them,” he said.
Norwalk schools are hopeful this type of on-the-ground teacher training in early literacy can be made available to all of the district’s elementary schools. On Tuesday, Norwalk submitted a $3 million federal grant called “Investing in Innovation”, which is part of President Obama’s stimulus program and education reform initiative.
The grant would set up a “lab” at one of the schools to focus on reading instruction for the district’s elementary school teachers. “Through hands on training and observation, the goal would be to create master teachers in reading,” says Gillis who has been training Norwalk teachers on and off at select schools for several years.
As part of the grant, the district aims to tackle the city’s literacy rate. The 2011 Connecticut Mastery Tests show that only 52 percent of third graders are reading at grade level.
This type of intensive teacher training was piloted at the Brookside summer school in July and attended by 427 elementary students who are “substantially deficient” readers. The program is mandated by the state for designated “priority” school districts. The feedback and results of the 19 day program are being incorporated into the grant application.
Gillis’s training was based on “decoding”, meaning that it was about breaking apart the sounds. “For kids who can’t read, the English language is a mystery,” said Gillis. “For kids who struggle, they need other ways to conquer the sounds and parts of the words. I’m using strategies that are multi-sensory. It’s another hook.”
Italia Negroni, the district’s grants specialist, spearheaded the compiling of the grant. The district also applied last year but was rejected. Recently, the application was modified to include the input of special education, literacy and ELL administrators, as well as from school board member Sue Haynie and Norwalk Education Foundation president Lauren Rosato. The district will learn if they are to receive the grant by the end of the year.
Larry Somma, a second grade teacher at Brookside, also participated in Gillis's training and summed up his resolve. “There’s a reason these kids are here. We have to something to stimulate them in a different way.”
Thursday, August 4, 2011
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This sounds a lot like the Lydia Duggins method that teachers learned in the late 70's. Students would sound out words from the left side of their bodies to the right side of their bodies. I believe the Duggins method originated at the University of Bridgeport. Vowel sounds were learned by the position a student took on a chair. If a child was learning short 'o' he/she would stand 'on' the chair. Learning short 'i' was 'in' the chair, etc.
ReplyDeleteThe Duggins method did not prove effective then. I am hoping that Margie Gillis emphasizes other strategies as well.
This is what the district should be doing, applying for grants for improved teaching, learning, and additional funding. But with the cuts to Central Office, the staff needed to pull together these complex grant applications and provide the accountability reporting, be it for state, fed or private funding, is going to be extremely precarious. Is it a risk worth taking.. placing Norwalk Schools in less than stellar compliance which could jeapardize future funding streams? As the governing body of NPS, the BOE needs to weigh this very carefully, for it will be ultimately responsible and liable for a lack of proper Central Office infrastructure.
ReplyDeleteThe superintendent's proposed position for a director does not include writing new grants. It is merely to keep track of the ones already coming to Norwalk. We would need a grant writer if new grants are wanted. Don't mix up the two positions. They are very different from one another.
ReplyDeleteMargie Gillis and the Haskins Labs staff have worked with Norwalk teachers before. Their approach is to bring scientifically based research about reading acquisition to schools - in a very teacher friendly format. It is good solid stuff, and we can definitely use it.
ReplyDeleteMy concern, however, is that they are all about the word level and decoding. That is fine for many students.
But my school (and I am sure others, as well) has many children who can decode or 'word call' very well, but have no idea about what they have read. They can fool their parents and sometimes their teachers because they sound so good. They have no general understanding, inferencing, or other higher level skills. This isn't high school, but grades K=5. I don't think that Haskins addresses that at all.